Wall form, waler, and a waler bracket



y 25, 1965 w. E. MUELLER WALL FORM, WALER', AND A WALER BRACKET 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 29, 1963 2 J! Z R L w q E. m I w T E 4 m u W MK I E 5 R 7 E 2 17..) U l A I W i A t 3 L nfil I1). MM! 1 {J I W I) j A1 1) u. I l /a\/\. u/ w w .W I W F fi I ATTORNEY y 1965 w. E. MUELLERWALL FORM, WALER, AND A WALER BRACKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 29,1963 INVENTOR WALTER E. MUELEER BY 4 w ATTORNEY 4 Q 5 i G mm x a. 1

Z A 3 JV- United States Patent 3,185,433 WALL FORM, WALER, AND A WALERBRACKET Walter E. Mueller, 1347 Coburg Lands Drive, St. Louis County,Mo. Filed Nov. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 326,704

2 Claims. (Cl. 249-210) 'This invention relates in general to buildingconstruction, and, more particularly, to a form for development of wallsas of concrete and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wall form for usein the construction of concrete walls and the like, which form iscomprised of a plurality of individual units so that the same may beused for forming walls of any predetermined length.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro- -vide a wallform of the type stated which incorporates novel means for maintainingthe component units in accurately aligned relationship without requiringpositive interconnection between the units so that the same may be usedrepeatedly.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a Wallform embodying novel means for assuring proper positionment of the wallwith respect to the foundation there-for.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a wallform of the character stated which incorporates a novel bracket foreffecting easily applied, and readily detached, engagement upon thecomponent units by an elongated waler for maintaining the upper portionsof the units in alignment as well as for providing a sup port surfacefor workmen.

It is an other object of the present invention to provide a wall form ofthe character stated which is comprised of a marked simplicity of parts,each of which is of sturdy construction, and hence being resistant toaccidental breakage or deformation; which wall form may be mosteconomically produced; which is easily and effectively utilized withoutdeveloped skill on the part of the users; the utilization of whicheffects substantial savings in construction costs; and which is durableand reliable in use.

Other objects and details of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description, when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings (two sheets) wherein FIGURE 1 is a front view of a wall for-mconstructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a corner of the wall form taken on theline 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,showing adjacent panels in outside corner formation.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, partially cut-away, of a portion of thewall form in assembled relation.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 5--5 of FIGURE4.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section taken on line 6-6of FIGURE 4.

Referring now by reference characters to the drawings which illustratethe preferred embodiment of the present invention, A generallydesignates -a wall form adapted for use in the construction of concretewalls and the like, which comprises opposed sections as indicated at a,b, each of which is constituted of a plurality of individual, preferablyrectangular, panels 1 fabricated as of plywood or like rigid material,with the panels in each section a, b being presented in correspondingrelationship, all as will appear more fully hereinbelow.

Panels 1 of each section a, b are presented in surface aligned, edgeabutting relationship with the number of panels in each section a, bbeing dependent upon the Patented May 25, 1965 predetermined length ofthe wall to be formed. As panels 1 are in all respects identical, thereis obviated any problem as to rights or lefts so that a workman isrelieved of any problem of sorting or matching in the use of panels 1,whereby the assembly of wall form A is greatly facilitated. Each panel 1is provided with, preferably, two series of vertically arranged, spacedapart narrow slot-like openings 2; with the openings 2 in one panelbeing in registering relationship with those in the corresponding panelof the opposite wall section. Pro vided for extension between oppositepanels 1, and for projection at its ends through the related set ofregistering openings 2, is a conventional snap tie 3 formed from flat,elongated metal stock and which, adjacent each of its ends, contains areduced portion 4 for constituting a zone of relative weakness. In theirend portions, projecting beyond the proximate panel 1, each snap tie isprovided with an aperture 5 for snugly receiving an elongated rod 6which may be of any desired length, but at least substantiallyapproximate the combined width of two panels so as to effectivelyprovide a means of joinder therefor. As shown in FIGURE 1, rods 6 are ofsuch extent so as to engage the snap ties in four adjacent panels. Asalso is easily seen in FIGURE 1, rods 6 may be vertically staggered tothereby create a system for reliably securing the juxtaposed panels 1 inassembled relationship. It is obvious that the length of snap ties 3 isdetermined by the desired thickness of the wall to be formed.

Wall form A, when in operative position, is designed to be disposed upona previously formed base or footing f, as of concrete, etc. In order toassure that the wall to be formed will be located upon footing f :at theprescribed position, there is presented an upwardly opening locatingchannel 7 having an outer flange 8, an inner parallel relatively shortflange 9, and a base web 10, there being a plurality of metal tabs 11fixed to said channel 7 and projecting laterally from said flange 8 atits lower end for flat-wise disposition upon footing 1. Each tab 11 isdrilled to form an opening 12 for extension therethrough of a suitablefastener element 13, such as a nail or spike of the doublehead type, foreffecting easily detached engagement of said channel 7 upon footing f.Said channel 7 is thus adapted to receive, in a manner to be described,the lower end portions of panels 1 of section a so as to present same instable mutually aligned relationship as well .as in appropriatedisposition for accurate location of the wall to be formed. Thus, beforeassembling wall form A, channel 7 will be secured upon footing f inproper relationshipto a wall line drawn or otherwise delineatedpreviously upon footing 3. Accordingly, channel 7 provides amultiplicity of unique features in that in addition to stabilizing andpositioning the panels 1 of section a, the same also effectivelycounters any accidental variation in the surface of footing f such asthrough gravel protrusion or like roughness due to imperfect formation,as well as to cond-uce to the unitary integration of wall form A inassembled condition.

Provided for engagement to the upper end portions of panels 1 of sectiona are elongated walers or longitudinal supports, each having a lengthconsiderably greater than the combined length of a plurality of panels 1so that in the event a single waler 14 would be of insuficient lengthfor either wall section a, b a plurality of such walers 14 may beutilized in end-to-end relationship, as may best be seen in FIGURE 1.Each waler l4'm-ay be formed of any suitable rigid material, but it hasbeen found from the standpoint of both expediency and economy that 2 x4s are quite adequate.

Said walers 14 are engaged to the related wall sections a, b by means ofbracket members which are comprised, essentially, of a pair of channelmembers 16, 17, in axial normal relationship and an interengaging hinge18. Said hinge 18 comprises a pair of plates 19, 19, each having a pairof side flanges 20, 20 respectively which are in partial overlappingrelationship with the corresponding flange of the other plate; therebeing aligned apertures through such overlapping flange portions forreception therein of the ends of a hinge pin 21. Engaged at one of itsends to said hinge pin 21 and surrounding same throughout its length isa helical spring 22 with its outer or free end 23 abutting against plate19, whereby said spring biases said plates 19, 19' toward each other ina direction away from hinge pin 21. Encasing spring 22 and hinge pin 21is a tubular spacer member 23. Hinge plate 19 is secured to the upwardlypresented surface of a topside flange 24 of channel member 16 whichlatter incorporates a vertically presented web 25 of substantially thesame thickness as waler 14; there being a relatively short undersideflange 26. Thus, channel member 16 is adapted to snugly embrace waler 14so as to present one side edge thereof in immediate proximity to theupper portions of the adjacent panels 1, with the free edge portion offlange 26 terminating spacedly from said panels 1. Hence, in operativeposition, channel 16 will open laterally toward the plane of panels 1.Hinge plate 19' is engaged, as by screws or like fasteners, to the web27 of channel 17 which incorporates a pair of downwardly ex tending sideflanges 28, 29 said latter being of relatively reduced extent withrespect to the former. The distance between side flanges 28, 29 is ofsuch extent as to relatively tightly engage the upper edge portions ofpanels 1. Thus, when in engaged relationship upon said panels 1, channel17 will open downwardly. As shown in FIG- URES 4 and 5, hinge plates 19project beyond the webs of channel 17 to provide an extension 30.

As may be seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, wall corner formations are easilyeffected by use of the present invention in that locating channels 7'which are in all respects identical to channel 7 above described, may besecured upon footing f in perpendicular relationship to channel 7 andthereby define a corner relationship as indicated broadly at c.

The assembly of wall form A for wall formation is as follows: Theworkman will initially position panels 1 within channel 7 and channel 7at corner (2 so as to place same in immediate planar normalrelationship. Hinge straps 31 may be secured to the corner-formingpanels 1 and with a corner rod 32 being received therein for effectinginitial stabilization of the two corner-forming panels. Another panel 1may then be received at its lower end within channel 7 at a pointrelatively remote from the corner-forming panels 1 and then a waler 14is secured to such panel 1 by means of bracket 15 and to the planaraligned panel 1 in the corner formation. Said waler 14 will span orbridge the distance between the aligned panels 1. In order to rigidifywaler 14 in such initial position there may be utilized an elongatedbrace 33 which, at its upper end, is disposed against the outer face ofthe waler 14 and may be secured thereto as by a nail or the like andwith its lower end being stabilized against shifting by means of a stake34 or other like anchoring device. The workman may then proceed tolocate panels 1 within the spacing so defined so as to complete theintervening portion of the wall section a. It must be recognized,however, that mounted on waler 14 is a plurality of brackets 15 by meansof the engagement of channel portions 16 upon such waler 14.Accordingly, in order to engage the panels 1, the upper edges thereofwill be received within the downwardly opening channel portions 17 ofthe respective brackets 15 and by the hinged character of said brackets15 the workman need merely raise upwardly upon said panels 1 so as tosuitably clear flange 9 of the respective channels 7, 7 as the case maybe, and thus to cause the lower end to descend into said channels forreception therein. Brackets 15 through the normal bias of the hinge 18will urge said panels 1 downwardly. It is preferable that each bracket15 be located substantially centrally of a panel 1 (FIGURE 1) and due tothe unusual character of brackets 15, the same may be easily adjustedlongitudinally of waler 14 and the upper ends of panel 1. Hence, in themanner above described, walers 14 may be utilized for the facile andrapid assembly of wall section a; there being no necessity of utilizingpositive types of securing means which would tend to weaken or deformthe components of wall section a such as would occur through theheretofore customary practice of utilizing nails and the like. Brackets15 provide a very simply used, but highly effective, means forinterengaging walers 14 to the adjacent panel sections.

With panels 1 of wall section a in side by side relationship, and beingengaged, as above described, to walers 14, snap ties 3 may be projectedthrough the openings in panels 1 of section a and thus affixed in theproper alignment of the corresponding panels of section b, with rods 6then being inserted into the openings in the projecting ends of saidsnap tie 3 in accordance with conventional practice. Wall form A is infully assembled relationship and the proper location of the same withrespect to footing 1 is assured through the use of channels 7, 7. Panels1 are in firm operative relationship by virtue of said channel 7 andwalers 14, which latter may be used as a catwalk for workmen in view ofthe rigidity of their connection to panels 1. After the concrete hasbeen poured Witl1- in wall form A and allowed to set, the removal ordisassembly of wall form A is easily and quickly accomplished. A mereupward lifting force upon extension 30 of brackets 15 disengageschannels 17, as by permitting swing of same into the position shown inphantom lines in FIGURE 5, whereby walers 14 may then be withdrawn. Bythe blow of a hammer or the like upon the projecting portions of snapties 3 the latter will rupture in their zones of weakness defined by thereduced portions 5 so that rods 6, together with the severed portions ofsaid snap ties 3 will drop free. Panels 1 may then be lifted upwardlyand withdrawn from channel 7; and the latter is easily removed afterdisplacing fasteners 13.

Thus, wall form A constitutes a marked advance in the art as it providesa means for allowing of quick assembly and disassembly of forms, whichconduces to substantial economies in operation; and which inventionallows of relative longevity of the components since damaginginterengaging means are not necessary, whereby the form may be usedrepetitively without diminution in effectiveness.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the formation,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of thewall form may be made and substituted for these herein shown anddescribed without departing from the nature and principle of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. For use with a wall form panel and a waler for supporting dispositionagainst one face of said panel, the improvement comprising a brackethaving first and second channel members, said first channel memberpresented for reception of said wall form panel, said second channelmember presented for reception of said waler, each of said first andsecond channel members having a web, a short side flange and a long sideflange, said flanges of each channel member being mutually parallel andnormal to the intervening web, a hinge connecting said first and secondchannel members, said hinge having first and second hinge plates, saidfirst hinge plate being engaged to the outer face of the web of saidfirst channel member, said second hinge plate being engaged to the outerface of the long side flange of said second channel member, whereby saidchannel members may be presented in usage with the side flanges of saidfirst channel member being in perpen- 5 dicular relationship to the sideflanges of said second channel member and with the second channel memberopening toward the short side flange of said first channel memher, andspring means biasing said first and second hinge plates toward eachother into planar parallel relationship.

2. For use with a Wall form panel and a Waler for supporting dispositionagainstone face of said panel, the improvement comprising a bracket asdefined in claim 1 and further characterized by said first hinge'platebeing of greater length than the web of said first channel member forprojection therebeyond to provide a channel-lifting extension.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 893,517 7/08Keller 24-81 7/ 27 Couslin 24-81 4/31 Irnrie 248-300 12/32 Olson 16-1371/35 Heumann 2481 1/42 Moore 16-128 12/ 46 Olson 25-131 12/49 Pontiere25131 FOREIGN PATENTS 3/63 Canada.

7/51 Germany. 3/49 Great Britain.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner. 15 ROBERT F. WHITE, MICHAEL V.BRINDISI,

Examiners.

1. FOR USE WITH A WALL FORM PANEL AND A WALER FOR SUPPORTING DISPOSITIONAGAINST ONE FACE OF SAID PANEL, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A BRACKETHAVING A FIRST AND SECOND CHANNEL MEMBERS, SAID FIRST CHANNEL MEMBERPRESENTED FOR RECEPTION OF SAID WALL FORM PANEL, SAID SECOND CHANNELMEMBER PRESENTED FOR RECEPTION OF SAID WALER, EACH OF SAID FIRST ANDSECOND CHANNEL MEMBERS HAVING A WEB A SHORT SIDE FLANGE AND A LONG SIDEFLANGE, SAID FLANGES OF EACH CHANNEL MEMBER BEING MUTUALLY PARALLEL ANDNORMAL TO THE INTERVENING WEB, A HINGE CONNECTING SAID FIRST AND SECONDCHANNEL MEMBERS, SAID HINGE HAVING FIRST AND SECOND HINGE PLATES, SAIDFIRST HINGE PLATE BEING ENGAGED TO THE OUTER FACE OF THE WEB OF SAIDFRIST CHANNEL MEMBER, SAID SECOND HINGE PLATE BEING ENGAGED TO THE OUTERFACE OF THE LONG SIDE FLANGE OF SAID SECOND CHANNEL MEMBER, WHEREBY SAIDCHANNEL MEMBERS MAY BE PRESENTED IN USAGE WITH THE SAID FLANGES OF SAIDFIRST CHANNEL MEMBER BEING IN PERPENDICULAR RELATIONSHIP TO THE SIDEFLANGES OF SAID SECOND CHANNEL MEMBER AND WITH THE SECOND CHANNEL MEMBEROPENING TOWARD THE SHORT SIDE FLANGE OF SAID FIRST CHANNEL MEMBER, ANDSPRING MEANS BIASING SAID FIRST AND SECOND HINGE PLATES TOWARD EACHOTHER INTO PLANAR PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP.